Dems slam Issa in resolution

House Democrats offered a motion on Thursday slamming Rep. Darrell Issa for cutting off Democrats during a hearing on Wednesday, their latest political assault on the controversial California Republican.

“The House of Representatives strongly condemns the offensive and disrespectful manner in which Chairman Darrell E. Issa conducted the hearing,” the text of the resolution reads.

The resolution was killed by Republicans who voted to table the motion - in effect set it aside - by a 211 to 186 vote. Ten lawmakers voted present.

The Democratic move stems from a contentious Wednesday hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which Issa chairs. The hearing, focused on the Internal Revenue Service scandal, ended with Issa cutting off the microphone of Rep. Elijah Cummings (Md.) — the panel’s ranking member — after closing the hearing before any Democrats had the chance to speak.

“I don’t care. … I am the ranking member of the committee, and I want to ask a question!” Cummings yelled at Issa. “I have listened to you for 15 minutes … let me say what I have to say.”

He later accused Issa of “hiding” and conducting a “one-sided investigation.”

“I am a member of the Congress of the United States of America! I am tired of this!” Cummings declared. “You cannot just have a one-sided investigation. .?.?. It is absolutely un-American.”

Issa was attempting to compel Lois Lerner, the former IRS employee at the center of the agency’s scandal , to testify about her role in the targeting conservative groups applying for a tax exemption. But Lerner, as expected, asserted her Fifth Amendment right and declined to answer the committee’s questions.

House Republicans are now weighing whether to hold Lerner in contempt of Congress. Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said on Wednesday he would support holding Lerner in contempt if she continues to avoid answering questions. That vote could come as early as next week in the committee, with the full House taking up the issue soon after that.

Boehner also backed Issa, telling reporters on Thursday that he believed the chairman acted properly.

“The issue here is our effort to get to the truth of abuse by the IRS of groups around the country that some in the administration don’t agree with,” Boehner told reporters. “From what I understand, I think Mr. Issa was within his rights to adjourn the hearing when he did.”

Congressional Democrats have long criticized Issa for how he oversees the Oversight Committee. Democrats argue he uses the gavel to lead a one-man inquisition against the White House, making wild accusations without evidence to back up these claims in order to get media coverage. Cummings has been especially critical of Issa’s focus on the tea party targeting scandal by IRS officials.

In their own press conference, several ranking Democrats said Issa’s behavior was typical of GOP abuses of the legislative process.

“Chairman Issa cut off my microphone because what I had to say or what he thought I might say,” Cummings asserted. “Chairman Issa’s undermined the integrity of our committee, and they prevent us from doing responsible and effective oversight.”

Yet even as Democrats were holding their press conference, an Issa staffer stood outside the room to hand out a press release noting that Lerner refuses to answer numerous questions about alleged IRS targeting of conservative nonprofit groups.

The Issa release asked “why do House Democrats believe that Lois Lerner has well-founded fear of criminal prosecution that allows her to claim the Fifth Amendment in refusing to testify?”